U.S. patent number 7,428,302 [Application Number 11/020,675] was granted by the patent office on 2008-09-23 for system and method for real-time, personalized, dynamic, interactive voice services for information related to existing travel schedule.
This patent grant is currently assigned to MicroStrategy, Incorporated. Invention is credited to Patnaik Anurag, Frederick Richards, III, Michael J. Saylor, Michael Zirngibl.
United States Patent |
7,428,302 |
Zirngibl , et al. |
September 23, 2008 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
System and method for real-time, personalized, dynamic, interactive
voice services for information related to existing travel
schedule
Abstract
A system and method for creation and automatic deployment of
personalized, dynamic and interactive voice services relating to
subscriber travel, including information derived from on-line
analytical processing (OLAP) systems. More specifically, the
invention relates to a system and method that enable personalized
delivery of travel-related information in real-time, via natural
language voice communication with a voice-enabled terminal
device.
Inventors: |
Zirngibl; Michael (Washington,
DC), Anurag; Patnaik (Arlington, VA), Saylor; Michael
J. (Vienna, VA), Richards, III; Frederick (Washington,
DC) |
Assignee: |
MicroStrategy, Incorporated
(McLean, VA)
|
Family
ID: |
33518707 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/020,675 |
Filed: |
December 27, 2004 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20050220278 A1 |
Oct 6, 2005 |
|
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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09455523 |
Dec 28, 2004 |
6836537 |
|
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60153222 |
Sep 13, 1999 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
379/88.12;
705/13 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M
3/493 (20130101); G06Q 10/025 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04M
1/64 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;379/67.1,76,72,88.11,88.12,88.13,88.17,201.02 ;709/5,88.18,229
;700/3,1,10 ;705/13 |
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|
Primary Examiner: Anwah; Olisa
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
LLP
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.
09/455,523, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
REAL-TIME, PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC, INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES FOR
INFORMATION RELATED TO EXISTING TRAVEL SCHEDULE," now U.S. Pat. No.
6,836,537, issued 28 Dec. 2004, which claims priority from U.S.
Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/153,222, filed 13 Sep. 1999,
entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC
DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE
SERVICES." This application is also related by subject matter to
the following U.S. Patent Applications: U.S. application Ser. No.
11/044,727, filed 28 Jan. 2005, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE
CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND
INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES," which is a continuation of U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/454,602, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled
"SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF
PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES," now U.S.
Pat. No. 6,850,603, issued 1 Feb. 2005; U.S. application Ser. No.
10/073,331, filed 13 Feb. 2002, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE
CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND
INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES, WITH CLOSED LOOP TRANSACTION
PROCESSING," which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.
09/455,525, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE
CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND
INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES, WITH CLOSED LOOP TRANSACTION
PROCESSING," now abandoned; U.S. application Ser. No. 10/951,475,
filed 27 Sep. 2004, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION
AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE
VOICE SERVICES WITH REAL-TIME DATABASE QUERIES," which is a
continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/455,533, filed 7 Dec.
1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC
DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES
WITH REAL-TIME DATABASE QUERIES," now U.S. Pat. No. 6,798,867,
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May 2003, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND
AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE
SERVICES WITH REAL- TIME DRILLING VIA TELEPHONE," which is a
continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/455,529, filed 7 Dec.
1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC
DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES
WITH REAL-TIME DRILLING VIA TELEPHONE," now U.S. Pat. No.
6,587,547, issued 1 Jul. 2003; U.S. application Ser. No.
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CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND
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filed 12 Feb. 2002, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION
AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE
VOICE SERVICES WITH CUSTOMIZED MESSAGE DEPENDING ON RECIPIENT,"
which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/455,527,
filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND
AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE
SERVICES WITH CUSTOMIZED MESSAGE DEPENDING ON RECIPENT," now
abandoned; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/661,377, filed 13 Sep.
2000, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CREATING VOICE SERVICES FOR
INTERACTIVE VOICE BROADCASTING;" U.S. application Ser. No.
09/661,375, filed 13 Sep. 2000, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE
CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND
INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES, WITH SYSTEM AND METHOD THAT ENABLE
ON-THE-FLY CONTENT AND SPEECH GENERATION;" U.S. application Ser.
No. 09/496,357, filed 2 Feb. 2000, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
PERSONALIZING INTERACTIVE VOICE BROADCASTS;" U.S. application Ser.
No. 09/661,471, filed 13 Sep. 2000, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND
INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES INCLUDING A MARKUP LANGUAGE FOR CREATING
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09/454,604, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
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2001; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/005,507, filed 7 Dec. 2004,
entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC
DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES,
WITH TELEPHONE-BASED SERVICE UTILIZATION AND CONTROL," which is a
continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/496,356, filed 2 Feb.
2000, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC
DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES,
WITH TELEPHONE-BASED SERVICE UTILIZATION AND CONTROL," now U.S.
Pat. No. 6,829,334, issued 7 Dec. 2004; U.S. application Ser. No.
09/454,601, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
REAL-TIME, PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC, INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES FOR
INVENTORY-RELATED INFORMATION;" U.S. application Ser. No.
09/454,597, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
REAL-TIME, PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC, INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES FOR
CORPORATE-ANALYSIS RELATED INFORMATION;" U.S. application Ser. No.
09/455,524, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
REAL-TIME, PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC, INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES FOR
INVESTMENT-RELATED INFORMATION;" U.S. application Ser. No.
11/089,035, filed 25 Mar. 2005, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
REAL-TIME, PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC, INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES FOR
ENTERTAINMENT-RELATED INFORMATION," which is a continuation of U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/454,603, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled
"SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REAL-TIME, PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC,
INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES FOR ENTERTAINMENT-RELATED INFORMATION,"
now U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,693, issued 29 Mar. 2005; U.S. application
Ser. No. 09/455,532, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD
FOR REAL-TIME, PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC, INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES
FOR PROPERTY-RELATED INFORMATION," now U.S. Pat. No. 6,768,788,
issued 27 Jul. 2004; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/454,599, filed 7
Dec. 1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REAL-TIME, PERSONALIZED,
DYNAMIC, INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES FOR RETAIL- RELATED
INFORMATION;" U.S. application Ser. No. 09/455,530, filed 7 Dec.
1999, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REAL-TIME, PERSONALIZED,
DYNAMIC, INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES FOR BOOK-RELATED INFORMATION,"
now U.S. Pat. No. 6,788,768, issued 7 Sep. 2004; U.S. application
Ser. No. 10/440,361, filed 19 May 2003, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD
FOR REAL-TIME, PERSONALIZED DYNAMIC, INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES FOR
TRAVEL AVAILABILITY INFORMATION," which is a continuation of U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/455,526, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled
"SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REAL-TIME, PERSONALIZED DYNAMIC, INTERACTIVE
VOICE SERVICES FOR TRAVEL AVAILABILITY INFORMATION," now U.S. Pat.
No. 6,658,093, issued 2 Dec. 2003; U.S. application Ser. No.
09/661,189, filed 13 Sep. 2000, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
VOICE- ENABLED INPUT FOR USE IN THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC
DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC, AND INTERACTIVE VOICE
SERVICES;" U.S. application Ser. No. 09/455,534, filed 7 Dec. 1999,
entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC
DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES,
WITH INTEGRATED IN BOUND AND OUTBOUND VOICE SERVICES;" U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/496,425, filed 2 Feb. 2000, entitled
"SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF
PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES, WITH THE
DIRECT DELIVERY OF VOICE SERVICES TO NETWORKED VOICE MESSAGING
SYSTEMS," now U.S. Pat. No. 6,765,997, issued 20 Jul. 2004; U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/454,598, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled
"SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF
PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES, INCLUDING
DEPLOYMENT THROUGH DIGITAL SOUND FILES," now U.S. Pat. No.
6,606,596, issued 12 Aug. 2003; U.S. application Ser. No.
11/124,297, filed 9 May 2005, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE
CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND
INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES, INCLUDING DEPLOYMENT THROUGH
PERSONALIZED BROADCASTS," which is a continuation of U.S.
application Ser. No. 09/454,600, filed 7 Dec. 1999, entitled
"SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF
PERSONALIZED, DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES, INCLUDING
DEPLOYMENT THROUGH PERSONALIZED BROADCASTS;" and U.S. application
Ser. No. 09/661,191, filed 13 Sep. 2000, entitled "SYSTEM AND
METHOD FOR THE CREATION AND AUTOMATIC DEPLOYMENT OF PERSONALIZED,
DYNAMIC AND INTERACTIVE VOICE SERVICES, WITH REAL-TIME INTERACTIVE
VOICE DATABASE QUERIES," now U.S. Pat. No. 6,885,734, issued 26
Apr. 2005.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of providing real-time transmissions of travel
information to a user, comprising: providing at least one voice
service that can output travel information to a user when the at
least one voice service is executed; enabling a user to subscribe
to the at least one voice service and provide personal information,
wherein the personal information comprises at least user contact
information; enabling the user to specify at least one reserved
travel component of an existing travel schedule to be monitored to
determine whether the at least one reserved travel component has
been altered; determining, when the at least one reserved travel
component specified by the user has been altered, one or more
options to modify the user's existing travel schedule based in part
on the at least one altered travel component; generating content
related to the user's existing travel schedule from the one or more
determined options; initiating an outbound communication to the
user using the user contact information to deliver, to the user,
the generated content related to the user's existing travel
schedule and the one or more determined options; and communicating
the generated content to the user.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a
transmission from the user in response to the content, wherein the
transmission comprises instructions to modify the user's existing
travel schedule.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user contact information
comprises at least one of a land-line telephone number, mobile
telephone number, e-mail address, pager number, or personal digital
assistant information.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one reserved travel
component comprises at least one of an airline flight reservation,
car rental reservation, hotel reservation, scheduled conference, or
tickets to an event.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one reserved travel
component is a reservation for an airline flight, and wherein the
at least one reserved travel component is determined as being
altered when the airline flight is at least one of cancelled,
delayed, or overbooked.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one reserved travel
component is a reservation for a car rental, and wherein the at
least one reserved travel component is determined as being altered
when a car rental agency holding the reservation is overbooked.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one reserved travel
component is stored in at least one travel component database.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one travel component
database comprises at least one of an airline flight information
database, rental car information database, hotel reservation
database, meeting database, or convention database.
9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: enabling the user to
specify a predetermined schedule for querying the at least one
travel component database to determine whether the at least one
reserved travel component has been altered.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more determined
options include one or more options to cancel, modify, or
reschedule the user's existing travel schedule.
11. A system for providing real-time transmissions of travel
information to a user, comprising: means for providing at least one
voice service that can output travel information to a user when the
at least one voice service is executed; means for enabling a user
to subscribe to the at least one voice service and provide
personal-information, wherein the personal information comprises at
least user contact information; means for enabling the user to
specify at least one reserved travel component of an existing
travel schedule to be monitored to determine whether the at least
one reserved travel component has been altered; means for
determining, when the at least one reserved travel component
specified by the user has been altered, one or more options to
modify the user's existing travel schedule based in part on the at
least one altered travel component; means for generating content
related to the user's existing travel schedule from the one or more
determined options; means for initiating an outbound communication
to the user using the user contact information to deliver, to the
user, the generated content related to the user's existing travel
schedule and the one or more determined options; and means for
communicating the generated content to the user.
12. The system of claim 11, further comprising: means for receiving
a transmission from the user in response to the content, wherein
the transmission comprises instructions to modify the user's
existing travel schedule.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein the user contact information
comprises at least one of a land-line telephone number, mobile
telephone number, e-mail address, pager number, or personal digital
assistant information.
14. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one reserved
travel component comprises at least one of an airline flight
reservation, car rental reservation, hotel reservation, scheduled
conference, or tickets to an event.
15. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one reserved
travel component is a reservation for an airline flight, and
wherein the at least one reserved travel component is determined as
being altered when the airline flight is at least one of cancelled,
delayed, or overbooked.
16. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one reserved
travel component is a reservation for a car rental, and wherein the
at least one reserved travel component is determined as being
altered when a car rental agency holding the reservation is
overbooked.
17. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one reserved
travel component is stored in at least one travel component
database.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one travel
component database comprises at least one of an airline flight
information database, rental car information database, hotel
reservation database, meeting database, or convention database.
19. The system of claim 17, further comprising: means for enabling
the user to specify a predetermined schedule for querying the at
least one travel component database to determine whether the at
least one reserved travel component has been altered.
20. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more determined
options include one or more options to cancel, modify, or
reschedule the user's existing travel schedule.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a system and method for creation and
automatic deployment of personalized, dynamic and interactive voice
services relating to subscriber travel, including information
derived from on-line analytical processing (OLAP) systems. More
specifically, the invention relates to a system and method that
enable personalized delivery of travel-related information in
real-time, via natural language voice communication with a
voice-enabled terminal device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various systems exist for enabling travelers to initiate a request
to determine the status of their travel schedules. One way in which
travelers can learn about alterations in a travel component (e.g.,
an airline flight) requires a traveler to look for the information.
For example, a traveler may call a toll-free telephone number to
determine if a flight is departing as scheduled. Such a system,
however, suffers from the drawback that it requires a traveler to
initiate the contact to determine the information about an altered
flight. Additionally, if the flight is canceled or delayed, the
user must typically make one or more calls to find and/or book
alternatives.
Another system for alerting a traveler about alterations of travel
components may include sending an e-mail transmission to the
traveler that a travel component has been altered. For example, a
traveler may receive an e-mail transmission stating that an airline
flight has been canceled. This system, however, may suffer from the
drawback that a traveler must have access to his/her e-mail to
receive the information. Even if the traveler receives the e-mail,
he/she must make one or more calls to identify travel alternatives
and reschedule the flight or take another option.
These and other drawbacks exist.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to overcome these and other drawbacks
in existing systems and methods.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method
for providing real-time, interactive travel-related information and
enabling users to initiate a responsive action during the
communication.
Another object of the invention is to provide systems and methods
for providing real-time, interactive telephone communication of
canceled airline flights and options to reschedule an airline
flight.
Another object of the invention is to provide systems and methods
for interactive real-time transmissions of information about a user
travel schedule having at least one travel component, where the
travel component may comprise an airline flight, a car rental
reservation, a room reservation, a meeting, or other travel
event.
Another object of the invention is to provide systems and methods
for generating content from an altered travel component and options
for modifying altered and non-altered travel components, and
communicating the content to a user.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished according
to various embodiments of the invention. Interactive, real-time
travel information is presented to a user. Travel information may
comprise information about travel components (e.g., airline flight,
hotel reservation, etc.) and any information that may be of
interest to a user who is traveling (e.g., weather, exchange rate,
traffic, etc.). A user may interact with information and modify
travel components, if necessary.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a traveler is
presented information about altered travel components and provided
with real-time, interactive user prompts to modify one or more
travel components of the travel schedule. A travel schedule having
travel components is reviewed to determine if the travel components
have been altered, such as canceled or delayed. Information about
the altered travel component is communicated to the traveler.
Options for modifying altered and non-altered travel components are
communicated to a traveler in a real-time, interactive format,
thereby allowing a traveler to modify the travel schedule in
response to the altered travel component.
Another embodiment of the invention relates to a system and method
for creation and automatic deployment of personalized, dynamic and
interactive voice services, including information derived from
on-line analytical processing (OLAP) systems and other data
repositories. The system and method enables the ability to capture
user selections to facilitate closed-loop transaction processing
and processing of other requests. One aspect of the invention
relates to an interactive voice broadcasting system and method that
enables analytical reporting and advanced transactional services
via the telephone or other voice-enabled terminal device. One
advantage of the invention is that a voice service may leverage the
power of OLAP or other data repository systems and provide critical
information to the user, in a timely fashion, by phone. Another
advantage of this method and system is that it provides a user with
the opportunity to immediately act upon information received during
a interactive voice broadcast.
A voice service is created and can have many users subscribed to
the voice service. Each user can specify personal preferences for
the content and presentation of the contents for a voice service.
The specification of the elements of a voice service may be done
using a set of interfaces (such as GUIs) that take the form of a
voice service wizard.
A voice service includes one or more Dialog elements. Dialog
elements may include one or more of Speech elements, Input elements
and Error elements. An Input element may include a Prompt element
and/or an Option element. An Input element enables the system to
request input from the user, capture the input and direct the call
flow based on the user's input. An Option element associates a key
(e.g., on a telephone touch pad dial) with a destination Dialog
that is executed when that number is pressed by a user during an
interactive voice broadcast. A Prompt requests a user to enter
numeric or other information. An Input element may enable a user to
request, during an interactive voice broadcast, a transaction, a
service or other requests. The term transactions, services and
requests are to be interpreted broadly.
According to one embodiment, the user's responses to Input elements
are stored during an interactive voice broadcast and, during or
after the voice broadcast, the stored information is processed by
the system or is passed to another system or application for
processing. The transaction (or other request) processing can be
accomplished either in real-time, during the voice broadcast, or
after the interactive voice broadcast is completed. The results or
confirmation of a transaction or other request can be provided to
the user during the call or subsequently.
Once a voice service is created, the system monitors predetermined
conditions to determine when the voice service should be executed.
Each voice service is executed when one or more predetermined
conditions are met as specified during creation of the voice
service. For example, a voice service may be executed according to
a predetermined schedule (time-based) or based on a triggering
event (e.g. one or more conditions are met based on the output of
an OLAP or other report).
When the predetermined condition is satisfied, the voice service is
executed. Executing a voice service, includes the steps of
generating the content specified by the voice service and the user
preferences. Some users may have identical personalization options
and, thus, a single call structure may be generated for a group of
users with identical personalization options. The content of the
voice service includes the information that is to delivered to
users of that voice service, and the Input to be requested from the
user, among other things. The content may include, for example,
static text messages, dynamic content (e.g. text based on
information output from an OLAP report, other database or other
sources) or blended text (e.g. static text combined with dynamic
content).
This and other content are formatted in an Active Voice Page (AVP).
An AVP contains the call structure and data. The AVP contains data
at various hierarchical levels that are defined by the Dialog
elements defined for each voice service. The active voice pages are
used to help govern the interaction between the call server and the
user during an IVB. According to one embodiment, the content is
formatted, into an AVP e.g., using XSL stylesheets so the AVP is in
an XML-based language. According to one embodiment, the XML-based
language used is a novel language referred to as TMI (discussed
below). The AVP is sent to a call server along with style
properties for each user. The style properties of a user help
determine the behavior of the call server during an interactive
voice broadcast. A unique AVP is generated for each user scheduled
to receive a voice service.
When a user is called by the call server, information is passed
through a T-T-S engine and delivered to the user through a
voice-enabled terminal device. Preferably, the structure of each
call is dynamic, driven by current data values and is personalized
based on a user profile established during subscription to a voice
service. During a typical interactive voice broadcast, a
synthesized, natural sounding voice greets the recipient by name,
identifies itself, provides information relevant to the user and
enables a user to provide input back to the system.
An IVB is a voice-enabled interaction with a user having a dynamic
structure controlled by the AVP for the particular user. The IVB
may be delivered using real-time, on-the-fly speech generation.
During an IVB, information is exchanged between the call server and
a user according to the AVP. The system executes dialogs by reading
messages to the user and, eliciting input from the user. For
example, the user may press buttons on a telephone touch pad dial
to select an option or to provide numeric or alphanumeric input.
Each response provided by a user may transfer control of the IVB to
a different part of the AVP.
During or after the IVB, the user's responses may be processed by
the system or other applications. The AVP may contain pointers to
other applications and embedded statements such that when a user
exercises an option, the system performs a requested operation and
returns the results to the user during the IVB. For example, by
exercising an option, a user may request that a real-time database
query be performed. When the user selects such an option, control
is shifted to a portion of the AVP that contains an embedded SQL
statement that is made against a database.
When a user has worked through selected dialogs of the AVP, the IVB
is terminated. That is, a user likely will not work through all of
the available dialogs during an IVB. Rather, the user's inputs and
option selections determine which the available dialogs are
encountered during any given IVB.
Other objects and advantages exist for the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1a is a flow chart of a method in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1b is a flow chart indicating a method of generating a voice
service according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1c is a flow chart indicating a method for interactive voice
broadcasting according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart indicating a sequence of an interactive
voice broadcast according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 3a is a schematic block diagram of a system in accordance with
an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3b is a schematic block diagram of an intelligence server
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3c is a schematic block diagram of call server according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a commercial transaction
processing system according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method of using a voice service bureau
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6a is a schematic block diagram of a voice service system
incorporating a voice service bureau according to one embodiment of
the present invention.
FIG. 6b is block diagram of a primary voice bureau according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6c is a block diagram of a backup voice bureau according to
another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for integrating
inbound and outbound voice services.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a call server configured to provide
integrated inbound and outbound voice services.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart for real-time, interactive transmission of
travel information according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIGS. 10a-10f illustrate content and content menus presented to a
traveler according to an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention is described in relation to providing
interactive, real-time information related to travel-related
information, and more particularly to real-time, interactive
telephone communication of travel-related information and options
to modify or create travel-related actions in response to that
information.
FIGS. 1-8 depict a system and method relating to a telephone
notification and execution system that may be used to implement the
present invention. This system is described in detail below.
For purposes of explaining the present invention, an example of a
specific embodiment of the present invention is set forth. A user
may schedule a trip and have a travel schedule having various
travel components. According to the present example, travel
components may comprise a round-trip airline flight between
Washington Dulles Airport and Chicago O'Hare Airport, hotel
reservations in Chicago for three nights, a rental car reservation
for four days, and a convention scheduled for three days. The
airline flight may depart Washington Dulles Airport at 2:00 PM on
Monday, Sep. 13, 1999, and arrive at Chicago O'Hare airport at 3:00
PM that afternoon. The return flight may depart Chicago O'Hare
airport at 1:00 PM on Thursday, Sep. 16, 1999 and arrive at
Washington Dulles Airport at 4:00 PM.
A user may then be subscribed to an airline voice service.
Information for a user may be specified, including specifying
personal preferences to content and presentation of content. Travel
information, including information about a travel schedule may be
stored along with personal information about the traveler. Personal
information may include the name of the user, home and office
addresses and telephone numbers for the user, travel preferences
(aisle or window seat, mid-size or full car, frequent traveler
numbers, travel club memberships, membership in AARP, smoking or
non-smoking, etc.), any methods for contacting the user, including
a mobile telephone or land-line telephone number, pager number, a
personal digital assistant address, or other interactive
communications device, and other information.
The voice service monitors predetermined conditions related to the
travel components to determine when the voice service is executed.
In this example, a user may set a flight cancellation as a
predetermined condition. The voice system monitors the
predetermined conditions and notes that the 2:00 PM flight from
Washington Dulles Airport to Chicago O'Hare Airport is canceled.
The voice service is then executed.
Content is generated by the voice service, including content based
on user preferences. Content may include options for modifying an
altered travel component, as well as options for modifying other
travel components. According to the this example, various other
airline flights from the Washington, D.C. area to Chicago are
determined. Other options for car rental, hotel reservations, and
other travel components based on the canceled flight may also be
determined, according to user preferences.
A call structure is created based on content, and sent to a call
database. A call structure may contain content as a dialog element
comprising static content and dynamic content. According to this
example, static content may comprise a greeting that may be played
for every user and dynamic content may comprise information that
the flight to Chicago has been canceled.
A call server accesses the call database for content, and places a
call to the user. Information passes through a text-to-speech
engine and then is delivered to a user. According to this example,
a telephone communication is established with the user, and the
static and dynamic content, including user inputs may be
communicated by speech output to the user. The user inputs may
include offering to reschedule the airline flight for another time
or another airport, canceling the airline flight altogether, making
a rental car reservation, making a train reservation, making a bus
reservation, or other manner of transportation. According to this
example, a traveler may be presented with user inputs to schedule
an airline flight departing at 1:00 PM or 3:00 PM from Washington
Dulles Airport to Chicago O'Hare Airport, or to schedule an airline
flight departing from another airport in the Washington, D.C. area.
Once a user has modified an altered travel component, appropriate
user inputs may be presented for modifying other travel components.
According to this example, if a user elects to fly from Washington
Dulles Airport to Chicago O'Hare Airport on the next day, Tuesday,
Sep. 14, 1999, the traveler is presented with options to change
his/her rental car and hotel room reservations. The user may also
be presented with options to modify her attendance at the
convention, and to notify other parties that the user is meeting
that her travel schedule has been modified.
A user's response to information is stored and processed. A user
may wait on the telephone while the response is processed, or may
hang up and be informed later about the processing results.
The above discussion is directed to a specific embodiment of the
present invention. A general description of the present invention
will now be described below.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart for real-time, interactive receipt of
travel-related information. At step 910, an airline voice service
is created. A user is subscribed to the airline voice service at
step 912. At step 914, the airline voice service monitors
predetermined conditions. At step 916, the airline voice service
determines whether to execute. Content based on predetermined
conditions is created at step 918. At step 920, a call structure is
created, and at step 922, the call structure is sent to a call
database. At step 924, a call server queries a call database. A
call server places a call to a user at step 926. At step 928,
information passes through a text-to-speech engine, and information
is delivered to a user at step 930. At step 932, user responses are
stored and at step 934, user responses are processed. The flowchart
of FIG. 9 will now be described in more detail.
At step 910, an airline voice service is created. An airline
service voice enables a user to receive real-time, personalized,
dynamic voice services for travel-related information based on a
user travel schedule comprising travel components, and user
personal information. Other information may also be used.
At step 912, a user may be subscribed to an airline voice service.
A travel schedule of a user having at least one travel component
may be received. A travel component may be a portion of an overall
travel schedule, such as a specific airline flight, a car rental
reservation, a room reservation, an appointment, meeting or other
scheduled event, a boat reservation, or other components related to
or associated with traveling. According to an embodiment of the
invention, travel components may include various events during
travel, including tickets to an event, such as play or sporting
event, on a specific date, scheduled meetings, such as business
meetings, attendance at conventions or reunions, or other events.
Travel components may comprise other items as well.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a travel schedule may
be received as it is created by a user. A user may create a travel
schedule by purchasing, or booking, one or more travel components.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a travel schedule may
be created by a user working with a travel agent, an airline
reservation service, or other services associated with traveling. A
user may subscribe to an airline voice service or may be subscribed
by another. According to an embodiment of the invention, a separate
service which performs the functions of the present invention may
receive a travel schedule from a user. According to an embodiment
of the invention, a travel schedule may be received from a traveler
and stored into an OLAP data warehouse accessible by an automatic,
interacting real-time, voice transmission system as described below
in connection with FIGS. 1-8. Other manners of receiving a travel
schedule and systems may also be used.
In being subscribed to an airline voice services, personal
information may be received about a user. Personal information may
include the name of a user, the name of any traveling companions,
if applicable, the address of the user, the telephone and pager
number(s) of the traveler, the e-mail address(es) of the user,
travel preferences, individual(s) to contact, information to be
received about travel, timing of when information is received,
frequent flyer membership and any other information about the
traveler. According to an embodiment of the invention, personal
information includes information that enables interactive,
real-time transmission of information about a travel schedule and
travel components to a user. According to an embodiment of the
invention, personal information may be provided once by a user and
saved for later use. Every time a user subscribes to the airline
voice service of the present invention, personal information may be
reused. A user may update personal information as necessary.
According to an embodiment of the invention, personal information
may be received from a user and stored into an OLAP data warehouse
accessible by an automatic, interactive, real-time, voice
transmission system as described below in connection with FIGS.
1-8. Other information may also be received.
At step 914, an airline voice service monitors predetermined
conditions as set forth in travel information and personal
information. According to an embodiment of the invention, travel
components of a travel schedule may be monitored to determine if
the status of a travel component has been altered. An altered
travel component may include a delayed or canceled airline flight,
a hotel or resort that is closed due to weather, a car rental
agency that has overbooked, a convention that has been canceled, or
other alteration of a travel component that may require a user to
change travel plans.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a user may define in
personal information what information is to be monitored based on a
travel schedule. Monitored information may include weather reports,
traffic reports, local time of a particular destination, current
events in a destination (e.g., earthquake, war, election results,
etc.), financial information pertaining to a destination (e.g.,
exchange rates, business mergers, etc.), or other information. By
way of example only, a user may indicate in personal information
the desire to receive a weather report four hours before a
beginning a particular travel component. By way of another example,
a user may designate as a predetermined condition to hear the
status of an airline flight only if the flight has been delayed or
canceled. Other manners of monitoring information may also be
used.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a travel schedule may
be stored on a database, which in turn may be operatively connected
to other databases with information about various travel
components. Other databases may include airline flight information
databases, rental car information databases, hotel reservation
databases, meeting databases, convention databases, or other travel
component databases. According to an embodiment of the invention,
meeting databases may be established, such as by a corporation, to
allow a comparison with travel components. As meetings are changed,
a meeting database may be updated and compared with travel
schedules. Travel components in a travel schedule may be compared
to various databases with travel information on a predetermined
basis, such as, by way of example only, every five minutes.
According to an embodiment of the invention, all information may be
stored in a single database, such as to an OLAP data warehouse
accessible by an automatic, interactive, real-time, voice
transmission system as described below in connection with FIGS.
1-8. Other manners for reviewing travel schedules may also be
used.
By way of example only, a user may have as one travel component in
a travel schedule a 2:00 PM flight on United Airlines.TM. departing
from Chicago O'Hare airport and landing in New York John F. Kennedy
airport. A database containing flights for United Airlines.TM. may
be reviewed every five minutes. If United Airlines.TM. cancels the
flight, the alteration of this travel component of a travel
schedule may be noted.
At step 916, an airline voice service may determine whether to
execute the voice system. If predetermined conditions are not
satisfied, an airline voice system may return to monitoring
predetermined conditions at step 916. If predetermined conditions
are met, content may be generated at step 918. Predetermined
conditions may be a schedule, an alert condition(s), initiation
request or other predetermined conditions.
At step 918, content is generated based on travel information,
personal information, predetermined conditions, and, when a travel
component has been altered, user inputs for modifying the travel
component are determined. User inputs may include selections for
rescheduling a travel component for another time or day, canceling
the travel component or the travel schedule completely, or using
another travel provider. By way of example only, if a 2:00 PM
flight on United Airlines.TM. departing from Chicago O'Hare airport
and landing in New York John F. Kennedy airport is canceled,
selections may include rescheduling for the 1:00 PM flight or the
3:00 PM flight on United Airlines.TM. from Chicago O'Hare airport
to New York John F. Kennedy airport, using another airline to fly
from Chicago O'Hare airport to New York John F. Kennedy airport at
2:00 PM, departing from another airport, choosing another day to
fly, canceling the flight altogether, or other modifications of a
travel component.
According to an embodiment of the invention, user inputs may be
determined by reviewing a database(s) with information about
various travel components. User inputs for modifying non-altered
travel components may be determined. Similar user inputs may be
determined as are determined for altered travel components. User
inputs for non-altered travel components may be necessary depending
upon selections for modifying an altered travel component. By way
of example only, if an airline flight on United Airlines.TM. is
canceled, databases containing flights for other airlines may be
reviewed to determined user inputs. Databases with other
information, such as car rental reservations, hotel reservations,
and other travel components, may also be reviewed to determine user
inputs in view of the canceled airline flight. By way of another
example only, a traveler may have an airline flight on Tuesday and
a hotel reservation for Tuesday night. If a travel modifies the
airline flight so that the airline flight is on Monday, a selection
for a hotel reservation may be provided to enable the user to make
a reservation for Monday night. Other user inputs may also be
needed.
According to an embodiment of the invention, generating content may
involve determining selections that a user would most likely
choose. By way of example only, for an altered airline flight,
content may include airline flight options departing two hours
either before or after the original canceled airline flight,
choosing flights from nearby airports, options which correspond to
a traveler's frequent flyer benefits, options for modifying room
reservations and car rental reservations as applicable and options
which provide a traveler with the best price or benefits. Other
content may also be generated.
At step 920, a call structure may be created. According to an
embodiment of the invention, a call structure may comprise static
content and dynamic content. Static content may comprise
information that may be played for every user such as a greeting.
Dynamic content may present the results of service output and user
inputs for a user to interact. User inputs may comprise user
options and user prompts. User options may define what information
a user will receive when a user presses a particular touch pad
number. A user prompt may be used to specify a question that a user
will be asked to be prompted for user information.
At step 922, call structure is sent to a call database. A call
database may be any type of conventional database that can store
information.
At step 924, a call server may access a call database. A call
server may access a call database for current call requests.
According to an embodiment of the invention, an automatic,
interactive, real-time, voice transmission system, as described
below in connection with FIGS. 1-8, may access a call database.
At step 926, a call server may place a call to a user. A call to a
user may be established to allow a user to receive information in
real-time and to interact with the information. According to an
embodiment of the invention, communication may be established
through a telephone or other device which allows interaction,
including voice interactive devices. Other types of communication
may also be used.
At step 928, information may pass through a text-to-speech engine.
A text-to-speech engine permits information to be communicated to a
user via a synthesized voice. Other manners for converting
information may also be used.
At step 930, content may be communicated to a user. Communication
of content may allow a user to receive content, including an
altered travel component and various user inputs based on the
altered travel component, and to select user inputs. Other manners
for communicating content to a user may also be used.
According to an embodiment of the invention, content communication
to a user may include prompting a user to select from various user
inputs, including user options and user prompts, to modify an
altered or a non-altered travel component. Providing user inputs,
including user options and user prompts, will be described in more
detail below with reference to FIGS. 10a-10f.
At step 932, user responses may be stored. User responses may be
instructions to modify travel components in response to
communicated content. With real-time, interactive communication, a
user may receive information, and may send instructions to modify
travel components based on received information. By way of example
only, a user may be informed that an airline flight is canceled,
and may send a response to reschedule the airline flight according
to various user inputs presented to the traveler. Further, the user
may send responses to modify non-altered components that need to be
changed due to the rescheduled airline flight, such as modifying
hotel reservations. User responses may be stored in a database,
thereby allowing electronic storage of user responses. According to
an embodiment of the invention, user responses may be stored in an
OLAP data warehouse accessible by an automatic, interactive,
real-time, voice transmission system, as described below in
connection with FIGS. 1-8. Other instructions may also be received
from a traveler.
At step 934, user responses may be processed. Processing user
responses may cause travel component(s) to be modified according to
instructions received from a user. According to an embodiment of
the invention, a system may access a reservation database and makes
change to various travel components. Various travel components,
including airline flights, hotel reservations, car rentals and
other travel components, may be modified and confirmation of the
modifications may be communicated over the telephone. According to
an embodiment of the invention, the an OLAP data warehouse
accessible by a system described below may be connected directly to
travel component information databases and enable processing of
user responses to modify travel components in real-time.
Processing user responses may cause an identified individual to be
notified about a modified travel component(s). A user may identify
one or more individuals to be notified about a modification of a
travel component(s). According to an embodiment of the invention, a
user may identify one or more individuals to always receive
information about a modification of a travel component(s).
Individuals who always receive information may include an
assistant, an employer, a spouse, a travel agent, an employer
travel coordinator, or any other individual who would always need
to know about modifications of a travel component(s).
According to an embodiment of the invention, a user may identify
one or more individuals to receive information about a modification
of a particular travel component(s). Individuals who receive
information about particular modifications may include a person(s)
to meet at a particular destination, person(s) associated with a
connecting travel component, or other individual who would need to
know about modifications of a particular travel component(s). Other
individuals may also be identified.
FIGS. 10a-10f illustrate content for real-time, interactive
communication with a user. FIG. 10a illustrates an example of
initial content communicated to a traveler. Content may include
information about a travel component, such as an airline flight.
According to an embodiment of the invention, where a travel
component is an airline flight, initial content may include the
name of a user, the airline flight number, the airline, the
departure airport, the date and time of departure, the arriving
airport, and the date and time of arrival. Other information may
also be communicated.
FIG. 10b illustrates an example of a content menu communicated to a
user. The content menu may indicate that a travel component has
been altered, such as an airline flight has been canceled, and may
provide options for a user to modify the altered travel component.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a user may be
presented user options to interact by pressing one or more keys on
the telephone key pad or speaking an option into the telephone.
According to an embodiment of the invention, where a travel
component is an airline flight, a user may be informed that an
airline flight is canceled, and may be presented user inputs,
including user options and user prompts to indicate what options
are desired. As illustrated in FIG. 10b, a user may be presented
user options to press the "1" key to reserve a seat on the next
available flight, press the "2" key to check other originating
airports, press the "3" key to check other destination airports,
press the "4" key to cancel a hotel reservation, and press the "5"
key to cancel a rental car reservation. Other user inputs may also
be provided.
FIG. 10c illustrates a content menu that may be presented to a user
that pressed the "2" key, from the content menu of FIG. 10b, to
check originating airports. A traveler may be presented user
options to press the "1" key to check flights originating from
Washington Dulles airport, press the "2" key to check flights
originating from Baltimore-Washington International airport, press
the "3" key to check flights originating from the Richmond, Va.
airport, and press the "4" key to check flights originating from
other airports. Other configurations may also be presented to a
user.
FIG. 10d illustrates a content menu that may be presented to a user
that pressed the "3" key, from the content menu of FIG. 10b, to
check destination airports. A user may be presented with user
options to press the "1" key to check flights that arrive in the
San Jose airport, press the "2" key to check flights that arrive in
the Oakland airport, press the "3" key to check flights that arrive
in the Sacramento airport, and press the "4" key to check flights
that arrive in other cities. Other configurations may also be
presented to a user.
FIG. 10e illustrates a content menu that may be presented to a user
once a flight has been identified. A user may be informed that a
particular flight is available. A user may be presented with user
options to press the "1" key to reserve a seat on the flight, to
press the "2" key to check another flight, or press the key to
return to the main content menu. Other configurations may also be
presented to a user.
FIG. 10f illustrates content that may be presented to a user once a
flight has been reserved. According to an embodiment of the
invention, content may be new airline flight information, including
the airline flight number, the airline, the departure airport, the
date and time of departure, the arriving airport, and the date and
time of arrival. According to an embodiment of the invention,
content may include return flight information, and other travel
component information, including car rentals, hotel reservations,
and other information. Other information may also be
communicated.
A system for enabling this technology is described. Specifically,
the database information may populate an OLAP database with the
interactive calling being provided by the call builder module.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system is
provided for automatic, interactive, real-time, voice transmission
of OLAP output to one or more subscribers. For example, subscribers
may be called by the system, and have content delivered audibly
over the telephone or other voice-enabled terminal device. During
the IVB, information may be exchanged between the system and a
subscriber. The system conveys content to the subscriber and, the
subscriber may respond by pressing one or more buttons on a
telephone touch pad dial (or other input mechanism) to hear more
information, to exercise options, or to provide other responses.
This interaction shapes the structure of a basic exchange between
the system and the subscriber. During or after the call is
terminated, the subscriber's responses may be stored and processed
(e.g., by other applications).
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for
automatic, interactive, real-time, voice transmission of OLAP
output to one or more subscribers is provided. FIG. 1a depicts a
flow chart of a method for automatic, interactive, real-time, voice
transmission of OLAP output according to one embodiment. The method
begins in step 110 with the creation of a voice service (e.g., by a
system administrator or user). A voice service is created using,
for example, a voice service wizard which may comprise a series of
interfaces. One embodiment of a method for creating a voice service
is explained in more detail below in conjunction with FIG. 1b. One
embodiment of a voice service wizard is explained below in
conjunction with FIG. 3b.
After a voice service is created, users may subscribe or be
subscribed to the voice service (step 120), for example, by using a
subscription interface. According to one embodiment, users may
subscribe to an existing voice service over the telephone or by
web-based subscription. A user may also be subscribed
programmatically. In other embodiments, a user may subscribe to a
voice service via electronic mail. Not every voice service created
in step 110 is available for subscription. More specifically,
according to another embodiment, only a user with appropriate
access, such as the creator of the service, is allowed to subscribe
himself or others to a service. Such a security feature may be set
when the voice service is created.
In step 130, a scheduling condition or other predetermined
condition for the voice services is monitored to determine when
they are to be executed. That is, when a voice service is created
or subscribed to, the creator or user specifies when the voice
service is to be executed. A user may schedule a voice service to
execute according to the date, the time of day, the day of the
week, etc. and thus, the scheduling condition will be a date, a
time, or a day of the week, either one time or on a recurring
basis. In the case of an alert service, discussed in more detail
below, the scheduling condition will depend on satisfaction of one
or more conditions. According to one embodiment, the condition(s)
to be satisfied is an additional scheduling condition. According to
another embodiment, to another embodiment, a service may be
executed "on command" either through an administrator or
programmatically through an API. Scheduling of voice services is
discussed in more detail below.
The method continues monitoring the scheduling condition for voice
services until a scheduling condition is met. When a scheduling
condition is met, that voice service is executed as illustrated in,
for example, step 140. The execution of a voice service involves,
inter alia, generating the content for the voice service, and
structuring the voice service to be telecast through a call server.
The execution of a voice service is explained in detail in
conjunction with FIG. 1c.
An example of a telecast is as follows.
Personalized Greeting
Hello Joe, this is your stock update.
PIN Verification
Please enter your six digit PIN number
(Joe enters his PIN, using the keypad dial on his telephone.)
Menu Options
Your portfolio was up by $1000 today.
Please select: 1. To get a portfolio stock update 2. To conduct a
transaction
(Joe presses 2).
Sub Menu
Thank you, Joe! Please select a ticker. 1. PQT 2. TQP 3. Listen to
options again 4. Return to main menu
(Joe presses 1.)
Sub Menu
Would you like to buy or sell stock? Please press: 1. To sell stock
2. To buy stock
(Joe presses 1.)
Sub Menu
How many shares of PQT would you like to sell today? Please press:
1. To sell 50 shares 2. To sell 100 shares 3. To sell 200 shares 4.
To sell another quantity
(Joe presses 2.)
Sub Menu
You selected 2. You want to sell 100 shares of PQT. Please press:
1. If this is correct 2. If this is incorrect 3. If you want to
change the number of shares you want to buy.
(Joe presses 1.)
End Voice Service/Terminate Telecast
Thank you for using our voice interactive broadcasting service,
Joe. We will call you back when your transaction is completed.
Good-bye.
As can be seen from the above sample during an IVB, the user is
presented with information, e.g., the status of his portfolio, and
is presented options related to that report, e.g., the option to
buy or sell stock.
According to one embodiment, a voice service is constructed using
service wizard. A voice service is constructed using several basic
building blocks, or elements, to organize the content and structure
of a call. According to one embodiment, the building blocks of a
voice service comprise elements of a markup language. According to
one particular embodiment, elements of a novel markup language
based on XML (TML) are used to construct voice services. Before
explaining how a telecast is constructed, it will be helpful to
define these elements.
The DIALOG element is used to define a unit of interaction between
the user and the system and it typically contains one or more of
the other elements. A DIALOG can not be contained in another
element.
The SPEECH element is used to define text to be read to a user.
The INPUT element is used to define a section of a DIALOG that
contains interactive elements, i.e., those elements that relate to
a response expected from a user and its validation. An INPUT
element may contain OPTION, PROMPT and ERROR elements.
An OPTION element identifies a predefined user selection that is
associated with a particular input. According to one embodiment,
OPTION elements are used to associate one or more choices available
to a user with telephone keys.
A PROMPT element defines a particular input that is expected.
According to one embodiment, a PROMPT element defines that a
sequence or number of key presses from a telephone keypad is
expected as input. Unlike an OPTION Element, a PROMPT Element is
not associated with predefined user selections.
The PROMPT and OPTION elements may also be used to request user
input using natural language. According to one embodiment, speech
recognition technology is used to enable a user to respond to a
PROMPT element or to select an OPTION element verbally by saying a
number, e.g., "one.". The verbal response is recognized and used
just as a keypress would be used. According to another embodiment,
the user may provide a free form verbal input. For example, a
PROMPT element may request that a user enter, e.g., the name of a
business. In response the user speaks the name of a business. That
spoken name is then resolved against predetermined standards to
arrive at the input. Word spotting and slot filling may also be
used in conjunction with such a PROMPT to determine the user input.
For example, a PROMPT may request that the user speak a date and
time, e.g., to choose an airline flight or to make a restaurant
reservation. The user's spoken response may be resolved against
known date and time formats to determine the input. According to
another embodiment, a PROMPT is used to request input using natural
language. For instance, in conjunction with a voice service to be
used to make travel plans, instead of having separate PROMPT
elements request input for flight arrival, departure dates and
locations, a single natural language PROMPT may ask, "Please state
your travel plan." In response, the user states `I`d like to go
from Washington D.C. to New York city on the 3.sup.rd of January
and return on the 3.sup.rd of February. This request would be
processed using speech recognition and pattern matching technology
to derive the user's input.
The ERROR element is used to define the behavior of the system if a
user makes an invalid response such as touching a number that has
not been associated with an OPTION element, or entering input that
does not meet the criteria of a PROMPT element. A SYS-ERROR element
defines a handler for certain events, such as expiration of the
waiting time for a user response.
The FOR-EACH element is used to direct the system to loop through a
list of variables e.g., variables contained in a database report,
or variables from a user input, to dynamically generate speech from
data.
In addition to the elements described above, there are two features
that maximize an administrator's ability to design voice services.
Call Flow Reports enable an administrator to generate the structure
of a call based on the content of an report e.g., from an OLAP
system or other data repository. For example, the options presented
to a user in a PROMPT element may be made to correspond to the row
of a data report. According to one embodiment, report data is
converted into options by application of an XSL (extensible style
sheet language) style sheet. The result of this application is
inserted into the static call structure when the voice service is
executed.
The use of an XSL style sheet is a feature that maximizes an
administrator's voice service building ability. As discussed above,
they are used to create dynamic call structure that depends on data
report output. They may also be used to generate a text string that
comprises the message to be read to a user at any point in a
call.
A method for creating a voice service according to one embodiment
will now be explained in conjunction with FIG. 2. The method begins
in step 210 by naming the voice service. Then, in step 220 various
scheduling parameters of the voice service are defined. In step 250
the service content is defined. And, in step 260, the
personalization modes, or style properties are selected for the
voice service.
According to one embodiment, in step 210, a voice service is named
and a description of the voice service provided. By providing a
name and description, a voice service may be uniquely identified.
An interface is provided for prompting input of the name of the
service to be created or edited. An input may also be provided for
a written description. An open typing field would be one option for
providing the description input. According to another embodiment,
if an existing call service has been selected to edit, the service
name field may not be present or may not allow modification.
In step 220, conditions for initiating the service are selected.
This may include selecting and defining a service type. At least
two types of services may be provided based on how the services are
triggered. A first type of service is run according to a
predetermined schedule and output is generated each time the
service is run. A second type of service, an alert service, is one
that is run periodically as well, however, output is only generated
when certain criteria is satisfied. Other service types may be
possible as well. In one embodiment the administrator is prompted
to choose between a scheduled service or an alert service. An
interface may provide an appropriate prompt and some means for
selecting between a scheduled service and an alert service. One
option for providing the input might be an interface with a two
element toggle list. In one embodiment, a set of alert conditions
is specified to allow the system to evaluate when the service
should be initiated if an alert type service has been selected. In
one embodiment, a report or a template/filter combination upon
which the alert is based is specified. Reports and template/filter
combinations may be predefined by other objects in the system
including an agent module or object creation module. According to
one embodiment, an agent module, such as DSS agent.TM. offered by
MicroStrategy, may be used to create and define reports with
filters and template combinations, and to establish the alert
criteria for an alert service. According to another embodiment, an
interface is be provided which includes a listing of any alert
conditions presently selected for the voice service. According to
this embodiment, the interface may comprise a display window. A
browse feature may take the user to a special browsing interface
configured to select a report or filter-template combination. One
embodiment of an interface for selecting reports and
filter-template combinations is described below. Once a report or
filter and template combination is chosen, the alerts contained in
the report or filter and template combination may be listed in the
display window of the interface.
In step 240, the schedule for the service is also selected.
According to one embodiment, predefined schedules for voice
services may be provided or a customized schedule for the voice
service may be created. If a new schedule is to be created, a
module may be opened to enable the schedule name and parameters to
be set. Schedules may be run on a several-minute, hourly, daily,
monthly, semi-annual, annual or other bases, depending upon what
frequency is desired. According to one embodiment, an interface is
provided that allows the administrator to browse through existing
schedules and select an appropriate one. The interface may provide
a browsing window for finding existing schedule files and a "new
schedule" feature which initiates the schedule generating module.
In one embodiment, schedules may not be set for alert type
services. However, in some embodiments, a schedule for evaluating
whether alert conditions have been met may be established in a
similar manner.
In step 230, the duration of the service is also set. Service
duration indicates the starting and stopping dates for the service.
Setting a service duration may be appropriate regardless of whether
a scheduled service or alert type service has been selected. The
start date is the base line for the scheduled calculation, while
the end date indicates when the voice service will no longer be
sent. The service may start immediately or at some later time.
According to one embodiment, the interface is provided to allow the
administrator to input start and end dates. The interface may also
allow the administrator to indicate that the service should start
immediately or run indefinitely. Various calendar features may be
provided to facilitate selection of start and stop dates. For
example, a calendar that specifies a date with pull-down menus that
allow selection of a day, month and year may be provided according
to known methods of selecting dates in such programs as electronic
calendar programs and scheduling programs used in other software
products. One specific aid that may be provided is to provide a
calendar with a red circle indicating the present date and a blue
ellipse around the current numerical date in each subsequent month
to more easily allow the user to identify monthly intervals. Other
methods may also be used.
In step 220, a voice service may also be designated as a mid-tier
slicing service. In one embodiment, mid-tier slicing services
generate content and a dynamic subscriber list in a single query to
an OLAP system. According to one embodiment, in a mid-tier slicing
service a single database query is performed for all subscribers to
the service. The result set developed by that query is organized in
a table that contains a column that indicates one or more users
that each row of data is applicable to.
In step 250, the content of the voice service is defined. Defining
the content of the voice service may include selecting the speech
to be delivered during the voice service broadcast (content), the
structure of dialogs, menus, inputs, and the background procedures
which generate both content and structure. In one embodiment,
defining voice service content establishes the procedures performed
by the vss server to assemble one or more active voice pages in
response to initiation of the voice service. According to one
embodiment, defining service content involves establishing a
hierarchical structure of TML elements which define the structure
and content of a voice service. All of the elements in a given
service may be contained within a container.
The personalization type is selected in step 260. Personalization
type defines the options that the administrator will have in
applying personalization filters to a voice service. According to
one embodiment, a personalization filter is a set of style
properties that can be used to determine what content generated by
the service will be delivered to the individual user and in what
format it will be delivered. In one embodiment, personalizing the
delivery format may include selection of style properties that
determine the sex of the voice, the speed of the voice, the number
of call back attempts, etc. Personalization filters may exist for
individual users, groups of users, or types of users. According to
one embodiment, personalization filters may be created independent
of the voice service. According to this embodiment, a voice service
specifies what filters are used when generating IVBs. Some
personalization type options may include: allowing no
personalization filters; allowing personalization filters for some
users, but not requiring them; and requiring personalization
filters for all interactive voice broadcasts made using the
service.
According to one embodiment, specifying personalization type is
accomplished by administrator input through an interface. The
interface may offer a toggle list with the three options: required
personalization, optional personalization, and no
personalization.
The voice service may be stored in a database structure to enable
users to retrieve predefined voice services and to subscribe to
these services, for example, through subscription interfaces
explained in conjunction FIGS. 3a-3c or otherwise. An interface
informing the administrator that creation of the voice service is
complete may also be provided.
According to one embodiment, the method of FIG. 1b also comprises
an error condition step. An error condition step may be used to
enable administrators to specify "error" conditions and the
handling of those conditions. For example, an "error" condition may
comprise a notification that a server is "down" or that there is no
data to be returned. An administrator may specify particular
actions to be performed by the system in response to one or more
error conditions. For example, an administrator may specify an
"addressing" error (e.g., disconnected number) and indicate a
particular action to be performed in response to an "addressing"
error (e.g., notify system administrator). Other error conditions
might include: an alert report encountering an error and returning
no data; a subscriber lacking the required personalization filter
for the service; errors occurring in the generation of one or more
reports; or reports returning no data Various other conditions and
actions may be specified. Certain error conditions may be
predetermined for the system, but an administrator may have reasons
for supplementing or diverging from the predetermined error
conditions. According to one particular embodiment, error
conditions are specified using the ERROR and SYS-ERROR
elements.
In one embodiment, setting error conditions may be accomplished
using an error handling interface. The interface may allow the
administrator to select either default error handling, or to
customize error handling using a module for defining error
handling. If default handling is selected, the system uses
established settings. If customized handling is chosen, the user
may use a feature to access the appropriate interface for the error
handling module.
Servers may have limited capacity to perform all of the actions
required of them simultaneously, the method of FIG. 1b comprises a
step for prioritizing the execution and delivery of voice services.
Prioritization may establish the order in which the voice service
system allocates resources for processing voice service and
delivering the IVB. According to one embodiment, assigning priority
to a voice service establishes priority for queries to the database
system, formatting the voice service, or IVBs. Any criteria may be
used for establishing priority. According to one embodiment,
priority is established based on service content. According to
another embodiment, priority is based on service destination.
According to another embodiment, priority may be established based
on the type of voice service, i.e., alert vs. scheduled. Any number
of procedures or criteria for denoting relative importance of
service delivery may be established.
In one embodiment, an interface is provided for defining the
priority of the voice service being created or edited. According to
one embodiment, the interface comprises a screen including option
boxes with pull down menus listing the number of different
prioritization options.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a method for executing a
voice service. FIG. 1c depicts one example of a flow chart for
executing a voice service. In step 310, the content of a voice
service is generated. In step 320, the call structure of a telecast
is created via Active Voice Pages. In step 330, the AVPs are put in
a call database for processing e.g., in a call queue. In step 340,
the call request is processed and an interactive voice broadcast
with the user is implemented. In step 350, user's responses are
written back to the voice service system (e.g., the Active Voice
Page). Each of these steps will be explained in more detail
below.
According to one embodiment, content is created in step 310 as
follows. A voice service execution begins by running scheduled
reports, queries or by taking other action to determine whether the
service should be sent. The subscribers for the service are then
resolved. Datasets are generated for each group of subscribers that
has unique personalization criteria.
Call structure may be created (step 320) as follows. An AVP
contains data at various hierarchical content levels (nodes) that
can be either static text or dynamic content. Static text can be
generated e.g., by typing or by incorporating a text file. Dynamic
content may be generated e.g., by inserting data from a data report
using a grid an/or an XSL stylesheet. Moreover, content is not
limited to text based information. Other media, such as, sound
files, may be incorporated into the AVP. The call data (for
example, at a particular level) may be the text that is converted
to speech and played when the recipient encounters the node.
According to another embodiment, call content may include
"standard" active voice pages that are generated and inserted into
a database or Web Server where the pages are periodically
refreshed. According to one particular embodiment, the active voice
page that is generated for a user contains links to these standard
active voice pages. The links may be followed using a process
similar to web page links.
The call structure may comprise either a static structure that is
defined in the voice service interfaces e.g., by typing text into a
text box and/or a dynamic structure generated by grid/XSL
combinations. The dynamic structure is merged with static structure
during the service execution. A single call structure is created
for each group of users that have identical personalization
properties across all projects because such a group will receive
the same content.
After a call structure is generated, in step 330, it is sent to a
call database e.g., call database 1811 shown in FIG. 3c along with
the addresses and style properties of the users. The style
properties govern the behavior of a call server 18 in various
aspects of the dialog with a user. Call server 18 queries call
database 1811 for current call requests and places new call
requests in its queue.
In step 340, a call request is processed. A call is implemented on
call server 18 using one of several ports that are configured to
handle telephone communication. When a port becomes available, the
call request is removed from the queue and the call is made to the
user. As the user navigates through an active voice page, e.g., by
entering input using the key pad or by speaking responses,
call/content is presented by converting text to speech in
text-to-speech engine 1814. User input during the call may be
stored for processing. According to another embodiment, user
responses and other input may also be used to follow links to other
active voice pages. For example, as explained above, "standard"
active voice pages may be generated and inserted into a database or
Web Server. Then, when a user's voice service is delivered, that
voice service may contain links to information that may be accessed
by a user. A user may access those standard active voice pages by
entering input in response to OPTION or PROMPT elements.
In step 350, user responses are stored by the system. According to
one embodiment, user responses are stored in a response collection
defined by the active voice page. A voice service may specify that
a subscriber return information during an IVB so that another
application may process the data. For instance, a user may be
prompted to purchase a commodity and be asked to enter or speak the
number of units for the transaction. During or after an IVB, the
subscriber's responses are written to a location from which they
can be retrieved for processing (e.g., by an external
application).
FIG. 2 is an example of an IVB with interactive call flow. An IVB
usually contains a greeting message that addresses the targeted
user, identifies the name of the calling application, and states
the purpose of the call and/or presents summary metrics. The voice
service system can also implement a PIN verification protocol, if
this layer of security is required. The main menu structure of an
IVB can contain a number of options that lead to sub-menu
structures. A menu can also contain prompts for the user to enter
numerical information using a telephone touch pad dial. A node
along the hierarchical menu structure may have options to return
the user to a higher level.
FIG. 3a depicts an embodiment of a system according to one
embodiment of the present invention. Preferably, the system
comprises database system 12, a DSS server 14, voice service server
16, a call server 18, subscription interface 20, and other
input/files 24.
Database system 12 and DSS server 14 comprise an OLAP system that
generates user-specified reports from data maintained by database
system 12. Database system 12 may comprise any data warehouse or
data mart as is known in the art, including a relational database
management system ("RDBMS"), a multidimensional database management
system ("MDDBMS") or a hybrid system. DSS server 14 may comprise an
OLAP server system for accessing and managing data stored in
database system 12. DSS server 14 may comprise a ROLAP engine,
MOLAP engine or a HOLAP engine according to different embodiments.
Specifically, DSS server 14 may comprise a multithreaded server for
performing analysis directly against database system 12. According
to one embodiment, DSS server 14 comprises a ROLAP engine known as
DSS Server.TM. offered by Micro Strategy.
Voice service server (VSS) 16, call server 18 and subscription
interface 20 comprise a system through which subscribers request
data and reports e.g., OLAP reports through a variety of ways and
are verbally provided with their results through an IVB. During an
IVB, subscribers receive their requested information and may make
follow-up requests and receive responses in real-time as described
above. Although the system is shown, and will be explained, as
being comprised of separate components and modules, it should be
understood that the components and modules may be combined or
further separated. Various functions and features may be combined
or separated
Subscription interface 20 enables users or administrators of the
system to monitor and update subscriptions to various services
provided through VSS 16. Subscription interface 20 includes a world
wide web (WWW) interface 201, a telephone interface 202, other
interfaces as desired and a subscriber API 203. WWW interface 201
and telephone interface 202 enable system 100 to be accessed, for
example, to subscribe to voice services or to modify existing voice
services. Other interfaces may be used. Subscriber API 203 provides
communication between subscription interface 20 and VSS 16 so that
information entered through subscription interface 20 is passed
through to VSS 16.
Subscription interface 20 is also used to create a subscriber list
by adding one or more subscribers to a service. Users or system
administrators having access to VSS 16 may add multiple types of
subscribers to a service such as a subscriber from either a static
recipient list (SRL) (e.g., addresses and groups) or a dynamic
recipient list (DRL) (described in further detail below). The
subscribers may be identified, for example, individually, in
groups, or as dynamic subscribers in a DRL. Subscription interface
20 permits a user to specify particular criteria (e.g., filters,
metrics, etc.) by accessing database system 12 and providing the
user with a list of available filters, metrics, etc. The user may
then select the criteria desired to be used for the service.
Metadata may be used to increase the efficiency of the system.
A SRL is a list of manually entered names of subscribers of a
particular service. The list may be entered using subscription
interface 20 or administrator console 161. SRL entries may be
personalized such that for any service, a personalization filter
(other than a default filter) may be specified. A SRL enables
different personalizations to apply for a login alias as well. For
example, a login alias may be created using personalization engine
1632. Personalization engine 1632 enables subscribers to set
preferred formats, arrangements, etc. for receiving content. The
login alias may be used to determine a subscriber's preferences and
generate service content according to the subscriber's preferences
when generating service content for a particular subscriber.
A DRL may be a report which returns lists of valid user names based
on predetermined criteria that are applied to the contents of a
database such as database system 12. Providing a DRL as a report
enables the DRL to incorporate any filtering criteria desired,
thereby allowing a list of subscribers to be derived by an
application of a filter to the data in database system 12. In this
manner, subscribers of a service may be altered simply by changing
the filter criteria so that different user names are returned for
the DRL. Similarly, subscription lists may be changed by
manipulating the filter without requiring interaction with
administrator console 161. Additionally, categorization of each
subscriber may be performed in numerous ways. For example,
subscribers may be grouped via agent filters. In one specific
embodiment, a DRL is created using DSS Agent.TM. offered by Micro
Strategy.
VSS 16 is shown in more detail in FIG. 3b. According to one
embodiment, VSS 16 comprises administrator console 161, voice
service API 162 and backend server 163. Administrator console 161
is the main interface of system 100 and is used to view and
organize objects used for voice broadcasting. Administrator console
161 provides access to a hierarchy of additional interfaces through
which a system administrator can utilize and maintain system 100.
Administrator console 161 comprises system administrator module
1611, scheduling module 1612, exceptions module 1613, call settings
module 1614, address handling module 1615, and service wizard
1616.
System administrator module 1611 comprises a number of interfaces
that enable selection and control of the parameters of system 100.
For example, system administrator module 1611 enables an
administrator to specify and/or modify an email system, supporting
servers and a repository server with which system 100 is to be
used. System administrator 1611 also enables overall control of
system 100. For example, system administrator module is also used
to control the installation process and to start, stop or idle
system 100. According to one embodiment, system administrator 1611
comprises one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
Scheduling module 1612 comprises a number of interfaces that enable
scheduling of voice services. Voice services may be scheduled
according to any suitable methodology, such as according to
scheduled times or when a predetermined condition is met. For
example, the predetermined condition may be a scheduled event
(time-based) including, day, date and/or time, or if certain
conditions are met. In any event, when a predetermined condition is
met for a given service, system 100 automatically initiates a call
to the subscribers of that service. According to one embodiment,
scheduling module 1612 comprises one or more GUIs.
Exceptions module 1613 comprises one or more interfaces that enable
the system administrator to define one or more exceptions, triggers
or other conditions. According to one embodiment, exceptions module
1613 comprises one or more GUIs.
Call settings module 1614 comprises one or more interfaces that
enable the system administrator to select a set of style properties
for a particular user or group of users. Each particular user may
have different options for delivery of voice services depending on
the hardware over which their voice services are to be delivered
and depending on their own preferences. As an example of how the
delivery of voice services depends on a user's hardware, the system
may deliver voice services differently depending on whether the
user's terminal device has voice mail or not. As an example of how
the delivery of voice services depends on a user's preferences, a
user may chose to have the pitch of the voice, the speed of the
voice or the sex of the voice varied depending on their personal
preferences. According to one embodiment, call settings module 1614
comprises one or more GUIs.
Address handling module 1615 comprises one or more interface that
enable a system administrator to control the address (e.g., the
telephone number) where voice services content is to be delivered.
The may be set by the system administrator using address handling
module 1615. According to one embodiment, address handling module
1615 comprises one or more GUIs.
Voice service wizard module 1616 comprises a collection of
interfaces that enable a system administrator to create and/or
modify voice services. According to one embodiment, service wizard
module 1616 comprises a collection of interfaces that enable a
system administrator to define a series of dialogs that contain
messages and inputs and determine the call flow between these
dialogs based on selections made by the user. The arrangement of
the messages and prompts and the flow between them comprises the
structure of a voice service. The substance of the messages and
prompts is the content of a voice service. The structure and
content are defined using service wizard module 1616.
Voice service API 162 (e.g., MicroStrategy Telecaster Server API)
provides communication between administrator console 161 and
backend server 163. Voice Service API 162 thus enables information
entered through administrator console 161 to be accessed by backend
server 163 (e.g., MicroStrategy Telecaster Server).
Backend server 163 utilizes the information input through
administrator console 161 to initiate and construct voice services
for delivery to a user. Backend server 163 comprises report
formatter 1631, personalization engine 1632, scheduler 1633 and SQL
engine 1634. According to one embodiment, backend server 163
comprises MicroStrategy Broadcast Server. Report formatter 1631,
personalization engine 1632, and scheduler 1633 operate together,
utilizing the parameters entered through administrator console 161,
to initiate and assemble voice services for transmission through
call server 18. Specifically, scheduler 1633 monitors the voice
service schedules and initiates voice services at the appropriate
time. Personalization engine 1632 and report formatter 1631 use
information entered through service wizard 1616, exceptions module
1613, call settings module 1614, and address module 1615, and
output provided by DSS server 14 to assemble and address
personalized reports that can be sent to call server 18 for
transmission. According to one embodiment, report formatter 1631
includes an XML based markup language engine to assemble the voice
services. In a particular embodiment, report formatter includes a
Telecaster Markup Language engine offered by MicroStrategy Inc. to
assemble the call content and structure for call server 18.
SQL engine 1634 is used to make queries against a database when
generating reports. More specifically, SQL engine 1634 converts
requests for information into SQL statements to query a
database.
Repository 164 may be a group of relational tables stored in a
database. Repository 164 stores objects which are needed by system
100 to function correctly. More than one repository can exist, but
preferably the system 100 is connected to only one repository at a
time.
According to one embodiment, a call server 18 is used to accomplish
transmission of the voice services over standard telephone lines.
Call server 18 is shown in more detail in FIG. 3c. According to one
embodiment, call server 18 comprises software components 181 and
hardware components 182. Software components 181 comprise call
database 1811, mark-up language parsing engine 1812, call builder
1813, text-to-speech engine 1814, response storage device 1815 and
statistic accumulator 1816.
Call database 1811 comprises storage for voice services that have
been assembled in VSS 16 and are awaiting transmission by call
server 18. These voice services may include those awaiting an
initial attempt at transmission and those that were unsuccessfully
transmitted (e.g., because of a busy signal) and are awaiting
re-transmission. According to one embodiment, call database 1811
comprises any type of relational database having the size
sufficient to store an outgoing voice service queue depending on
the application. Call database 1811 also comprises storage space
for a log of calls that have been completed.
Voice services stored in call database 1811 are preferably stored
in a mark-up language. Mark-up language parsing engine 1812 accepts
these stored voice services and separates the voice services into
parts. That is, the mark-up language version of these voice
services comprises call content elements, call structure elements
and mark-up language instructions. Mark-up language parsing engine
1812 extracts the content and structure from the mark-up language
and passes them to call builder 1813.
Call builder 1813 is the module that initiates and conducts the
telephone call to a user. More specifically, call builder dials and
establishes a connection with a user and passes user input through
to markup language parsing engine 1812. In one embodiment, call
builder 1813 comprises "Call Builder" software available from Call
Technologies Inc. Call builder 1813 may be used for device
detection, line monitoring for user input, call session management,
potentially transfer of call to another line, termination of a
call, and other functions.
Text-to-speech engine 1814 works in conjunction with mark-up
language parsing engine 1812 and call builder 1813 to provide
verbal communication with a user. Specifically, after call builder
1813 establishes a connection with a user, text-to-speech engine
1814 dynamically converts the content from mark-up language parsing
engine 1812 to speech in real time.
A voice recognition module may be used to provide voice recognition
functionality for call server 181. Voice recognition functionality
may be used to identify the user at the beginning of a call to help
ensure that voice services are not presented to an unauthorized
user or to identify if a human or machine answers the call. This
module may be a part of call builder 1813. This module may also be
used to recognize spoken input (say "one" instead of press "1"),
enhanced command execution (user could say "transfer money from my
checking to savings"), enhanced filtering (instead of typing stock
symbols, a user would say "MSTR"), enhanced prompting, (saying
numeral values).
User response module 1815 comprises a module that stores user
responses and passes them back to intelligence server 16.
Preferably, this is done within an AVP. During a telephone call, a
user may be prompted to make choices in response to prompts by the
system. Depending on the nature of the call, these responses may
comprise, for example, instructions to buy or sell stock, to
replenish inventory, or to buy or rebook an airline flight. User
response module 1815 comprises a database to store these responses
along with an identification of the call in which they were given.
The identification of the call in which they were given is
important to determining what should be done with these responses
after the call is terminated. User responses may be passed back to
intelligence server 16 after the call is complete. The responses
may be processed during or after the call, by the system or by
being passed to another application.
Statistics accumulator 1816 comprises a module that accumulates
statistics regarding calls placed by call builder 1813. These
statistics including, for example, the number of times a particular
call has been attempted, the number of times a particular call has
resulted in voice mail, the number of times a user responds to a
call and other statistics, can be used to modify future call
attempts to a particular user or the structure of a voice service
provided to a particular user. For example, according to one
embodiment, statistics accumulator 1816 accumulates the number of
times a call has been unsuccessfully attempted by call builder
1813. This type of information is then used by call server 18 to
determine whether or not the call should be attempted again, and
whether or not a voice mail should be left.
Call server 18 also comprises certain hardware components 182. As
shown in FIG. 3c, hardware components 182 comprise processor 1821
and computer telephone module 1822. According to one embodiment,
processor 1821 comprises a Pentium II processor, available from
Intel, Inc. Module 1822 provides voice synthesis functionality that
is used in conjunction with Text to Speech engine 1814 to
communicate the content of voice services to a user. Module 1822
preferably comprises voice boards available from Dialogic, Inc.
Other processors and voice synthesizers meeting system requirements
may be used.
The system and method of the present invention may form an integral
part of an overall commercial transaction processing system.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system and
method that enable closed-loop transaction processing are provided.
The method begins with the deployment of an IVB by executing a
service. As detailed above, this includes generating the content
and combining this with personalization information to create an
active voice page. Call server 18 places a call to the user. During
the call, information is delivered to the user through a
voice-enabled terminal device (e.g., a telephone or cellular
phone). Phone lines 183 may be used for communication purposes.
During the IVB, a user may request a transaction, service, further
information from the database or other request, e.g., based on
options presented to the user. These will generically be referred
to as transactions. The request may be, but is not necessarily,
based on or related to information that was delivered to the user.
According to one embodiment, the request comprises a user response
to a set of options and/or input of information through a telephone
keypad, voice input or other input mechanism. According to another
embodiment, the request can be made by a user by speaking the
request. Other types of requests are possible.
According to one embodiment, the user responses are written to a
response collection, which along with information stored in the
active voice page, can be used to cause a selected transaction to
be executed. According to one embodiment, the active voice page
comprises an XML-based document that includes embedded, generic
requests, e.g., a request for a transaction, or a request for
additional information (a database query). These embedded requests
are linked with, for example option statements or prompts so that
when a user enters information, the information is entered into the
generic request and thus completes a specific transaction request.
For example, in the example if a user exercises an option to buy a
particular stock, that stock's ticker symbol is used to complete a
generic "stock buy" that was embedded in the active voice page.
According to one embodiment, tokens are used to manage user inputs
during the IVB. A token is a temporary variable that can hold
different values during an IVB. When a user enters input, it is
stored as a token. The token value is used to complete a
transaction request as described above. According to one
embodiment, the system maintains a running list of tokens, or a
response collection, during an IVB. In order to complete the
requested transaction, the user responses (and other information
from the active voice page) may need to be converted to a
particular format. The format will depend, for example, on the
nature and type of transaction requested and the system or
application that will execute the transaction. For example, a
request to purchase goods through a web-site may require the
information to be in HTML/HTTP format. A request for additional
information may require and SQL statement. A telephone-based
transaction may require another format.
Therefore, the transaction request is formatted. According to one
embodiment, the transaction is formatted to be made against a
web-based transaction system. According to another embodiment, the
transaction request is formatted to be made against a database.
According to another embodiment, the transaction is formatted to be
made against a telephone-based transaction system.
According to another embodiment, the transaction is formatted to be
made via e-mail or EDI. Other embodiments are possible.
In one embodiment, the formatted transaction request comprises an
embedded transaction request. The system described in connection
with FIGS. 1-3 provides interactive voice services using TML, a
markup language based on XML. Using TML active voice pages are
constructed that contain the structure and content for a
interactive voice broadcast including, inter alia, presenting the
user with options and prompting the user for information. Moreover
in connection with OPTION and PROMPT elements, active voice pages
also can include embedded statements such as transaction requests.
Therefore, the formatting for the transaction request can be
accomplished ahead of time based on the particular types of
transactions the user may select.
For example, in connection with an exemplary stock purchase, an
active voice page can include an embedded transaction request to
sell stock in the format necessary for a particular preferred
brokerage. The embedded statement would include predefined
variables for the name of the stock, the number of shares, the type
of order (market or limit, etc.), and other variables. When the
user chooses to exercise the option to buy or sell stock, the
predefined variables are replaced with information entered by the
user in response to OPTION or PROMPT elements. Thus, a properly
formatted transaction request is completed.
In the system of FIGS. 1-3, TML parsing engine in call server 18
includes the functionality necessary to generate the properly
formatted transaction request as described above. For example, in
connection with the embodiment described above, the TML parsing
engine shown in FIG. 3c reads the active voice pages. When the TML
parsing engine reads an OPTION element that includes and embedded
transaction request, it stores the transaction request, and defines
the necessary variables and variable locations. When the user
exercises that OPTION, the user's input is received by the TNML
parsing engine and placed at the memory locations to complete the
transaction request This technique could be used, for example, to
generate a formatted transaction request for web-site.
According to another embodiment, where the transaction request is
made via a natural language, voice request, a formatted transaction
request can be generated in a number of ways. According to one
embodiment, speech recognition technology is used to translate the
user's request into text and parse out the response information.
The text is then used to complete an embedded transaction request
as described above. According to another embodiment, speech
recognition software is used to translate the request to text. The
text is then converted to a formatted request based on a set of
known preferences.
A connection is established with the transaction processing system.
This can be accomplished during, or after the IVB. According to one
embodiment, the transaction processing system comprises a remotely
located telephone-based transaction site. For example, in the
system shown in FIGS. 1-3, call server 18, through the TML parsing
engine 1812, establishes a connection with a telephone-based
transaction processing site.
According to another embodiment, the transaction processing system
comprises a remotely based web-site. According to this embodiment,
the formatted request includes a URL to locate the web-site and the
system accesses the site through a web connection using the
formatted request. Alternatively, the formatted request includes an
e-mail address and the system uses any known email program to
generate an e-mail request for the transaction.
After the connection is established, the transaction is processed
by the transaction processing site and the user is notified of the
status of the transaction. If the transaction is completed in
real-time, the user may be immediately notified. If the transaction
is executed after the IVB, the user may be called again by the
system, sent an e-mail, or otherwise notified when the transaction
has been completed.
According to one particular embodiment, the system comprises the
interactive voice broadcasting system shown and described in FIGS.
1-3 and the transaction is accomplished in real-time. In this
embodiment, confirmation of the transaction is returned to TML
parsing engine 1812 shown in FIG. 3 and translated to speech in
text-to-speech engine 1814 and presented to the user during the
IVB. More specifically, and similar to the process described with
respect to embedded formatted transaction requests, TML also
enables embedding of a response statement. Thus, when the
transaction is processed and confirmation of the transaction is
returned to the system, an embedded confirmation statement is
conveyed to the user through TML parsing engine 1812 after being
converted to speech in text-to-speech engine 1814.
FIG. 4 schematically depicts one example of how the system and
method of the present invention would fit into such a commercial
transaction processing system. Working from left to right in FIG.
4, the system begins and ends with information stored in relational
databases. One of the primary purposes of information is in making
decisions. Thus, the information in the databases is most useful if
provided to someone who desires it in a timely fashion.
A voice service system is provided to enable access to the
information in the databases. The voice service system utilizes
personalization information and personalized menus to construct
AVPs pages that enable the information to be delivered to a user
verbally. Moreover, the AVPs pages, not only enable information to
be presented to the user. But, they also enable the user to provide
information back to the voice service system for additional
processing.
According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, once the AVPs are
constructed by voice service system, they are processed and the
content is delivered to a user verbally in an IVB. Thus, call
processing and text-to-speech technology are used to establish a
telephone connection with a user and convert the active voice pages
to speech for presentation to the user. As shown in FIG. 4, the IVB
may be delivered to a user in many devices, including a telephone,
a mobile phone, voice mail, an answering machine or any other
voice-enabled device.
During the IVB, depending on the content that is being delivered,
control may be passed to an e-commerce application for the user to
complete a transaction based on the information presented. For
example, if the user has requested information about sales on a
particular brand of merchandise, the user may be connected with a
particular retailer in order to complete a transaction to buy a
particular good or service. Information about this transaction is
then added to the databases and thus may be advantageously accessed
by other users.
It may not be economical for some potential users of a voice
broadcasting system to buy and/or maintain their own telephony
hardware and software as embodied in call server 18. In such a
case, a voice service bureau may be maintained at a remote location
to service users voice service requests. A voice service bureau and
a method of using a voice service bureau according to various
embodiments of the present invention is described in conjunction
with FIGS. 5-6.
In one embodiment, a voice service bureau may comprise one or more
call servers and call databases that are centrally located and
enable other voice service systems to generate a call request and
pass the call request to the VSB to execute a call. In this way the
other voice service systems do not need to invest in acquiring and
maintaining call data bases, call servers, additional telephone
lines and other equipment or software. Moreover, the VSB
facilitates weeding out usage of illegal numbers and spamming by
number checking implemented through its web server.
A voice service bureau and a method of using a voice service bureau
according to one embodiment are described in conjunction with FIGS.
5-6. FIG. 5 depicts a method of utilizing a voice service bureau
according to one embodiment of the present invention. The method
begins in step 810 with a request to place one or more telephone
calls received through a computer network.
According to one embodiment, the voice service bureau is maintained
at a location distant from the voice service system. Therefore, in
order for a voice service to be processed by the voice service
bureau, in step 810 the voice service is sent to the voice services
bureau, preferably over some secure line of communication.
According to one embodiment, the request is sent to the voice
service bureau through the Internet using secure HTTPS. HTTPS
provides a secure exchange of data between clients and the voice
service bureau using asymmetric encryption keys based on secure
server certificates. In another embodiment, SSL HTTP protocol is
used to send a call request to the voice service bureau. Both of
these protocols help ensure that a secure channel of communication
is maintained between the voice service system and the voice
service bureau. Other security techniques may be used.
When a request for a call or telecast is received, by the VSB, the
request is authenticated by the voice service bureau in step 820.
According to one embodiment, the authenticity of the request is
determined in at least two ways. First, it is determined whether or
not the request was submitted from a server having a valid, active
server certificate. More specifically, requests may be typically
received via a stream of HTTPS data. Each such request originating
from a server with a valid server certificate will include an
embedded code (i.e., server certificate) that indicates the request
is authentic. In addition to the use of server certificates, each
request may also be authenticated using an identification number
and password. Therefore, if the request submitted does not include
a valid server certificate and does not identify a valid
I.D./password combination, the request will not be processed. The
step of authenticating also comprises performing any necessary
decryption. According to one embodiment, any errors that are
encountered in the process of decrypting or authenticating the call
request are logged an error system and may be sent back to the
administrator of the sending system. Other methods of
authenticating the request are possible.
Each properly authenticated request is sent to a call server (step
830) and processed (step 840). According to one embodiment, the
voice service bureau comprises a number of call servers. According
to one embodiment, the calls are sent to a call database, and
processed as set forth herein in conjunction with the explanation
of call server 18.
One embodiment of a voice service bureau will now be explained in
conjunction with FIGS. 6a-6c. FIG. 6a depicts a system comprising a
plurality of client side installations 91, a primary voice bureau
92, a system administrator 93, a backup voice service bureau 94,
and a plurality of users 95. Client side installations 91
communicate with voice service bureau 92 through a computer
network. Voice service bureau 92 communicates with users 95 through
a voice network. According to one embodiment, the computer network
comprises the internet and client side installations 91 communicate
with voice service bureau 92 using HTTPS as described above, and
the voice network comprises a public telephone network.
According to one embodiment, client side installations 91 are
substantially identical to the system shown in FIG. 4 except for
the elimination of call server 18. In the system of FIG. 6a, the
functionality of call server 18 is performed by VSB 92. As shown in
this embodiment, VSB 92 can service multiple client side
installations 91.sub.1 to 91n. According to another embodiment,
client-side installation functionality may be included within VSB
92. According to this embodiment VSB 92 constitutes a fully
functional voice service that is accessible through email,
telephone or other interfaces.
According to this embodiment, when voice services have been
assembled by intelligence server 16, a request to have the voice
services transmitted is sent via a secure network connection
through the computer network shown to primary voice bureau 92 and
backup voice service bureau 94 as described above. According to one
embodiment, the request comprises a mark-up language string that
contains the voice service structure and content and personal style
properties and other information. As described above, voice bureau
92 authenticates the request, queues the voice services and sends
telecasts to users 95 through the voice network.
A block diagram of one embodiment of primary voice bureau 92 is
shown in FIG. 6b. According to this embodiment, primary voice
bureau comprises routers 921, dual-homed servers 922, database
servers 923, call database 924, backup storage 925, call servers
926, internal switch 927, and system administrator 93. Routers 921
receive call requests via a computer network and pass them along to
one of the two dual-homed servers 922. Router 921 monitors activity
on servers 922 and forwards call requests to one of the two
depending on availability.
Dual-homed servers 922 comprise servers configured to receive and
send HTTPS email. As part of their receiving function, dual-homed
servers 922 are configured to perform the authentication processing
described above. According to one embodiment, dual-homed servers
922 determine whether the incoming request originated from a server
with an active server certificate and also determine if the request
contains a valid I.D./password combination. Once dual-homed servers
922 have authenticated the incoming request, they forward the
request to be queued in call database 924. As part of their sending
function, dual-homed servers 922 are configured to format and send
HTTPS email. As discussed above, during a telecast a user may
request that further information be accessed from a database or
that some transaction be performed. According to one embodiment,
these user requests are forwarded back to the originating system
via HTTPS email by dual-homed servers 922. Dual-homed servers 922
are load balanced to facilitate optimal performance and handling of
incoming call requests.
Database servers 923, call database 924, and backup storage 925
together comprise a call request queuing system. Primary voice
bureau 92 is configured to handle a large number of call requests.
It may not be possible to process call requests as they arrive.
Therefore, call requests are queued in call database 924. According
to one embodiment, call database 924 comprises a relational
database that maintains a queue of all call requests that need to
be processed as well as logs of calls that have been processed.
According to another embodiment, primary VSB 92 may include a
failover measure that enables another system server to become the
call database if call database 924 should fail.
Database servers 923 are configured to control access to call
database 924. According to one embodiment, database servers may be
optimized to generate SQL statements to access entries in call
database at high speed. Database servers 923 also control storage
of call requests and call logs in call database 924.
Call servers 926 each are configured to format and send telecasts.
According to one embodiment, each of call servers 926 is
substantially identical to call server 18 shown in FIG. 3c. More
specifically, each of call servers 926 receives requests for
telecasts, parses the call content from the mark-language,
establishes a connection with the user through phone lines 929, and
receives user responses. According to one embodiment, call servers
926 comprise a clustered architecture that facilitates message
recovery in the event of server failure.
Primary voice bureau 92 is controlled by system administrator 93
and internal switch 927. System administrator controls switch 927
and thus controls the flow of call requests to call database 924
from dual homed servers 922 and to call servers 926 from call
database 924.
System administrator 93 is also configured to perform a number of
other services for primary voice bureau 92. According to one
embodiment, system administrator 93 also comprises a billing
module, a statistics module, a service module and a security
module. The billing modules tabulates the number of voice service
requests that come from a particular user and considers the billing
plan that the customer uses so that the user may be appropriately
billed for the use of voice bureau 92. The statistics module
determines and maintains statistics about the number of call
requests that are processed by voice bureau 92 and statistics
regarding call completion such as, e.g., success, failed due to
busy signal and failed due to invalid number. These statistics may
be used, for example, to evaluate hardware requirements and modify
pricing schemes. The security module monitors activity on voice
bureau 92 to determine whether or not any unauthorized user has
accessed or attempted to access the system. The service module
provides an interface through which primary voice bureau 92 may be
monitored, for example, to determine the status of call requests.
Other service modules are possible. Moreover, although these
services are described as distinct modules, their functionality
could be combined and provided in a single module.
Backup voice service bureau 94 receives a redundant request for
voice services. Backup voice service bureau 94 processes the
requests only when primary voice service bureau is offline or busy.
One embodiment of backup voice service bureau 94 is shown in FIG.
6c. Backup voice bureau 94 comprises routers 941, HTTP server 942,
database server 943, call server 946 and routers 947. Each of these
components performs a function identical to the corresponding
element in primary voice bureau 92. Router 947 replaces switch 927.
Communication lines 949 may replace phone lines 929. Router 947
controls the forwarding of call requests to database server 943 for
queuing in an internal database, and the forwarding of call
requests to call server 946 from database server 943.
The systems and methods discussed above are directed to outbound
broadcasting of voice services. Nevertheless, in certain
situations, for example when the out bound telecast is missed, it
is desirable to for a voice service system to enable inbound
calling. According to another embodiment, a method and system for
providing integrated inbound and outbound voice services is
disclosed.
A method for providing inbound access to voice services according
to one embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7.
According to FIG. 7, the method begins with receipt of a call
requesting voice services in step 1210. To help ensure system
integrity and to prevent unauthorized access, a call request is
authenticated in step 1220. According to one embodiment, each
incoming caller is automatically prompted to enter a login
identifier and a PIN. According to another embodiment, an automatic
number identification system is used, in addition to a login
identifier and PIN system, to determine whether or not the user is
calling from an authorized device. According to another embodiment,
speaker recognition technology is utilized to identify a caller.
According to this embodiment, voice prints for each user of the
voice service system are stored as identifiers. When an inbound
call is connected, pattern matching techniques are used verify the
user's speech against the previously stored voice prints. Other
security measures are possible.
In step 1230, a voice page is located. As explained above, a
telecast of a voice service is driven by an active voice page.
Accordingly, a user calling in to access voice services locates the
desired active voice page. According to one embodiment, the user is
automatically placed into an active voice page of a voice service
that the user missed. That is, the system chooses an active voice
page that it was unable to deliver. According to this embodiment,
when a call is undeliverable (e.g., when an answering machine picks
up), the active voice page for that call is placed in memory in a
"voice site" table or as an active voice page on a web site and
addressed using the user's identification. When the user calls in
to retrieve the voice service, after the user logs in, the table or
web site will be searched for an active voice page that corresponds
to their identification. If such a page exists, it is executed by
the call server.
Other possibilities exist for accessing active voice pages through
inbound calling. According to another embodiment, the system
maintains a log of all voice services sent and provides an inbound
user an option to select one of their previous voice services.
According to another embodiment, an inbound caller is automatically
placed into an active voice page that presents the user with an
option to select one of that user's most frequently used services.
According to still another embodiment, the user is allowed to
search for past active voice pages by date or content. For example,
the user may be prompted to enter a date on or near which the
desired voice page was executed. According to another embodiment,
the user may use the telephone keys to enter a search term and
search the content of any previously executed active voice page
that they are authorized to access or that is not secure.
Once an active voice page is located, the user navigates through
the active voice page in step 1240. As described above, a user
navigates through an active voice by exercising options, responding
to prompts and otherwise entering input to the system. An inbound
calling system would thus have access to the full functionality of
the voice service system described in conjunction with FIGS.
1-6.
FIG. 8 depicts a block diagram of a call server 18a that enables
integrated inbound and outbound calling. In addition to the modules
depicted in call server 18 of FIG. 3, call server 18a comprises
call receiver module 1817, security module 1818 and search module
1819. Moreover, in the system for permitting inbound and outbound
calling, call database 1811 has been replaced with an enhanced call
database 1811a.
In order to receive inbound calls, call server 18a comprises call
receiver module 1817. Although, call server 18 discussed above
contains hardware permitting reception of calls as well as
transmission of calls, it is not set up to receive calls. Call
receiver module 1817 enables call server 18a to receive calls and
routes the incoming calls to security module 1818. According to one
embodiment, call receiver module comprises a software component
designed to configure call server 18a to receive calls. Other
embodiments are possible.
Received calls are forwarded to security module 1818 for
authentication. According to one embodiment discussed above,
incoming calls are authenticated using login I.D.'s and passwords.
According to another embodiment, automatic number identification
software is used to identify and authenticate callers. According to
another embodiment, speech recognition and pattern matching
techniques are used to identify a caller.
Authenticated calls may search for an active voice page using
search module 1819. According to one embodiment, search module 1819
comprises a search engine designed specifically to search active
voice pages. According to one embodiment discussed above, active
voice pages utilize an XML-based language and search module 1819
comprises an XML-based search engine. According to another
embodiment, search module 1819 comprises a SQL engine designed to
make queries against a relational or other type of database.
The active voice pages that are being search are stored in enhanced
call database 1811a. In addition to its facilities to queue and log
calls, enhanced call database 1811 includes facilities to catalog
active voice pages. According to one embodiment, enhanced call
database comprises a relational or other type of database.
According to this embodiment, enhanced call database is used to
store and categorize active voice pages and corresponding
parameters, such as expiration dates for active voice pages. Other
storage facilities are possible.
Various features and functions of the present invention extend the
capabilities of previously known information delivery systems. One
such system is MicroStrategy's Broadcaster version 5.6. The
features and functions of the present invention are usable in
conjunction with Broadcaster and other information delivery systems
or alone. Other products may be used with the various features and
functions of the invention including, but not limited to,
MicroStrategy's known product suite.
Other embodiments and uses of the invention will be apparent to
those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification
and practice of the invention disclosed herein. The specification
and examples should be considered exemplary only. The scope of the
invention is only limited by the claims appended hereto.
* * * * *
References